Recipes from a pastry chef

Category Archives: Cookies

Beignets are a kind of French donut that are very popular in New Orleans. It’s pretty much a deep fried dough dredged in powered sugar. Only problem is that they can take a while to make.

Now, do you ever have left over biscuits? You know, like those kind that are refrigerated in cans? Well, a simple way to make beignets is by cutting up your left over biscuits into chunks, deep frying them in hot oil and dredging them in powered sugar. Takes less than 3 minutes! AND you aren’t wasting those left over biscuits. =)

Who doesn’t love a crunchy, sweet rice krispy treat? These were a weekly necessity in my house when I was young. They were the perfect snack to have for lunch or after school. They slipped easily in my papa’s lunch bag too! I don’t know of a single person who doesn’t like these old time favorites. =)

Here is the ‘original’ recipe. It’s the one my family has used since I can remember!

Grease a 13×9 pan with butter. Melt the butter and marshmallows in a BIG pot on medium to low heat (so you don’t scald/burn your mashmallows!). Once there are NO lumps, take off the stove and add your cereal. Mix until all the bits of cereal are coated in marshmallows. THIS WILL TAKE SOME ELBOW GREASE AND TIME!!! Pour mixture into prepared pan and quickly butter your hands (I spray mine with nonstick spray). Press the treats into the pan until evenly distributed. Cool, cut, and enjoy!

Until recently, I never liked this spicy cookie. Lately, however, as my palette continues to grow and change, I have found them quite delightful! These cookies are PERFECT for this time of year because they include all of the spices that generally remind you of the holiday season. Just a note, these aren’t chewy cookies. They are crisp ginger snaps 😉

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare pans by laying them with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream the shortening and sugar. Add the egg and beat until light and fluffy, then stir in the molasses. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add to the egg mixture and stir just until combined. Use a cookie scoop (1 in) to dip out balls off dough. Roll each ball in sugar and place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Flatten tops of cookies just a tad and bake for 13 minutes, until cookies have spread and tops have cracked. Let cool on wire rack. Enjoy!

One of my favorite candy bars are Butterfingers. For some reason, the rich buttery goodness puts me in a trance as I devour the chocolaty goodness. NOW, I discovered a cookie that incorporates my favorite candy bar! Butterfinger Cookies =) These cookies take the rich chocolaty, buttery goodness and puts it in a rich cookie.

When I did my internship, I experienced a great deal of amazing pastries that I would have normally passed up. My tastes were somewhat picky and up until that point I didn’t care for blueberries, raspberries or any kind of fruity pie filling. After being coaxed into trying one of their raspberry cherry bars, I opened my mind (and my mouth) to every opportunity I had to try new desserts. Which makes sense, seeing as I am now a pastry chef!

While it is technically “illegal” to share with you the recipe they used, I found this recipe online and tested it a while back. It’s not quite the same, but it is still delicious! I hope you enjoy it =)

Preheat the oven to 350℉ and position an oven rack in the center. Line a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with foil across the bottom and up the two long sides, then lightly coat with melted butter, oil, or high-heat canola-oil spray.

Make the crumble dough. Place the flour, oats, brown sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on low speed until evenly mixed (or place in a food processor and process for 5 seconds). Add the cold butter and mix on low speed until the mixture looks like wet sand and starts to form clumps, 5 to 6 minutes (or process for 45 to 60 seconds, pausing to scrape down once with a spatula).

Divide the dough in half. Pat one half into an even layer in the prepared pan. Set the other half aside. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden and crisp. Transfer to a rack and cool for 20 minutes. Leave the oven on.

Make the filling. Empty the jam into a medium bowl and stir well to break up any lumps. Add the cherries and stir until well mixed and all the cherries are coated with ham. Spread evenly over the cooled crust, all the way to the edges. Sprinkle the remaining dough evenly over the filling.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Transfer to a rack and cool completely, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

To serve, run a thin knife or spatula around the edges of the pan to loosen any dough or filling. Lift the cookies out using the foil as handles and place on a cutting surface. Cut into 3 by 1-inch bars. Just before serving, use the fine-mesh strainer to lightly dust the confectioners’ sugar over the cookies.

So, originally, the Hershey Kiss Blossoms were made with a peanut butter cookie and a kiss in the middle. Bbbutttt I don’t always crave peanut butter cookies. I do, however, crave shortbread cookies often. So, I thought of a way to make Shortbread Blossoms. =) Enjoy!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, cream together butter and white sugar until smooth. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Mix in flour until dough comes together. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Make a small hole in the center of each ball, using your thumb and finger. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes in preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Let cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet. During the last 2 minutes of baking, place kisses in the thumbprint then finish baking.

I am so sorry I haven’t posted in 4 days! I have been out-of-town with the love of my life at Cayucos, CA. We decided we needed some “us” time and took a mini vacation there.

BUT This little excursion lead me to my next recipe!

As a pastry chef, I attempt to try something from a local bakery everytime I visit a new place. I want to learn what their culture is through the sweets they make. In this sense, I tried something that brought me back to the year 2004 when I made the same cookie,wrote a recipe, and completely forgot about them! So, from my shelf to yours, here is Chocolate Dipped Almond Macaroons!

In a food processor, grind the almonds together with the sugar to a fine powder. Add the almond extract. Break up your egg whites in a bowl by slightly whisking them with a fork. Slowly add them one at a time, until the dough comes together. Use a small cookie scoop or drop by teaspoon onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Let sit at room temperature for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Bake the cookies for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly golden in color. Then transfer to racks and allow cool completely.

Next, melt chocolate in a double boiler set over a pot of gently simmering water (be careful not to scorch). Carefully dip half of each cookie into chocolate, and set on a parchment lined baking sheet. Refrigerate until set.